Istanbul Technical University: Admission, Language, Campuses

Istanbul Technical University (İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, İTÜ) teaches in 13 faculties on five campuses in Istanbul. This page follows an applicant from abroad: who may apply, the 20 exams and diplomas ITU lists with a minimum score, the documents, the English and Turkish rules, what tuition means and where each campus stands. Every figure is ITU’s own, with the date it was checked.

The university: numbers, faculties and history

A faculty (fakülte) is a group of departments, and a department (bölüm) is one programme of study. A campus is a yerleşke. ITU’s faculty page counts 13 faculties for undergraduate programmes and 7 institutes for graduate and doctoral programmes, on 5 campuses in Istanbul.

The school’s names, as ITU’s history page lists them

1. 1773Mühendishâne-i Bahrî-i Hümâyûn (gloss, not ITU’s wording: «the imperial naval school of engineering»), founded by Sultan Mustafa the Third.
2. 1795–1909Mühendishâne-i Berrî-i Hümâyûn (1795; gloss: «the imperial land school of engineering»), Hendese-i Mülkiye (1883; gloss: «the civil school of engineering»), Mühendis Mekteb-i Ali’si (1909; gloss: «the higher school of engineers»).
3. 1928–1944School of Higher Engineering (1928), Graduate School of Engineering (1941), then the transition to Istanbul Technical University (1944).
4. 1970–1975The Ayazağa main campus (1970), the start of undergraduate and graduate education (1974) and the Istanbul Turkish Music State Conservatory (1975).
5. 2023The 250th year in higher education.

ITU About and History pages · checked 01.11.2026 · history · about

Who may apply: the groups ITU lists

ITU’s Application page says that international students who are in their last year at, or have graduated from, a secondary school with a curriculum equivalent to a Turkish high school, and who meet the conditions below, may apply to undergraduate programmes. Applications are made online, usually in August every year, through the Registrar’s Office website.

The five groups on the Application page

• Foreign nationals who have not attended or graduated from a high school in Türkiye. Exceptions the page prints: those who completed all their high school in embassy schools or international private institutions registered in the MOBİS system, and those who came to Türkiye under a project of the Ministry of National Education or the Council of Higher Education.
• Born as Turkish citizens who gave up Turkish citizenship with the Ministry of Interior’s permission, and holders of a Blue Card issued on request after losing citizenship, who have not attended a high school in Türkiye or in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. ITU advises these applicants to read Article 7 of Law No. 5901 on Turkish Citizenship.
• Foreign nationals who later became Turkish citizens, and dual nationals in that position, under the same high school condition.
• Turkish citizens who completed all their high school abroad, other than in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This includes those who completed it in Turkish schools abroad opened under the Ministry of National Education.
• Citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus who have not attended high schools in Türkiye or Turkish-curriculum high schools there, and meet GCE A level, TR-YÖS or other criteria approved by the Council of Higher Education.

ITU Application page, eligibility requirements · checked 01.11.2026 · page

The 2026–27 call table, three lines for international applicants

2nd round application conditions to undergraduate programmes for international students

21.08.2026 09:00 – 26.08.2026 17:00 (UTC/GMT+3)

English Proficiency Exam application

20.08.2026 09:00 – 02.09.2026 23:59

English Proficiency Exam registration for the 2026 associate and undergraduate admissions and the candidates on the 2026 list of eligible students

03.09.2026 09:00 – 06.09.2026 23:59

First round

The Application page says only «usually in August».

All of these dates are past on 01.11.2026. ITU’s registrar page for application and admission · checked 01.11.2026 · call table

The exams: twenty listed, a minimum for each

ITU’s Valid Exam Results page lists 20 exams and diplomas for international undergraduate applicants, each with a minimum, and a second table of minimums for the Turkish Music State Conservatory. The Application page says an applicant applies with one of them: no other exam, and no score below the table’s, is accepted. SAT and ACT scores are valid for two years.

What the table says about three words

• TR-YÖS is the Exam for Foreign Students of ÖSYM, the Centre for Assessment, Selection and Placement. The guide Studying in Türkiye explains it.
• YÖK is Yükseköğretim Kurulu, the Council of Higher Education. ITU says the table’s scores need its approval and may change.
• Conservatory is the Turkish Music State Conservatory. ITU prints a lower minimum for some exams there, and no row for the Austrian and Albanian Matura.

The documents and where they go

All candidates apply by uploading their documents to ITU’s system. ITU says the authenticity of the documents is checked by the relevant institutions, and that an application with forged documents is invalid and legal action follows.

What ITU asks of every file

• Readable, complete, PDF. The files go up in PDF format and in the required standards.
• Turkish or English. A document in another language goes up with a Turkish or English translation, together with the original.
• One exam only. The application is made with one result from the table of chapter 3: no other exam, and no lower score.

The seven uploads on the Application page

• High school diploma: the diploma and its approved translation. An applicant without a diploma yet uploads a document from the school with the expected graduation date.
• Transcript: all courses and grades, approved by the high school directorate, with a translation if needed. A university transcript too, for an applicant who studies at or graduated from a university.
• Valid exam result: one of the results in the table of chapter 3, with a certified translation if it is not in Turkish or English.
• Passport: a photocopy of the page with the photograph, not approved. An applicant without a passport skips this upload.
• Blue Card: the card issued by the Turkish government, for those who have one. An applicant without a Blue Card skips this upload.
• Residence permit: uploaded only by those who already have one. The residence permit procedures follow after final registration.
• Statement of Purpose: only for Textile Development and Marketing, Faculty of Textile Technologies and Design: 300 words at most.

ITU Application page, required documents · checked 01.11.2026 · page

English and Turkish: what ITU asks

ITU’s Application page asks for an English proficiency result accepted by the ITU Senate, handed in at registration. An applicant without one completes a one-year English preparatory class at the School of Foreign Languages (Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu). An applicant who hands in a valid result is exempt from the preparatory class and starts the programme directly. The faculties teach 30 % or 100 % in English.

The preparatory class

• One or two terms. Students complete at least one and at most two terms, and pass the ITU Proficiency Exam or one of the exams the Senate approves (TOEFL iBT or PTE), to start in their departments.
• Compulsory since 1997–98. The class has been compulsory for undergraduates since that academic year.
• Passing the exam ends the class. A student who passes continues in the department, not in the preparatory class.
• Contact: Student Affairs Office, 0212 285 7495, [email protected]; Turgut Özal Yabancı Diller Yüksekokulu Kongre ve Öğrenci Sosyal Merkezi, İTÜ Ayazağa Yerleşkesi, 34469 Maslak/Sarıyer.

School of Foreign Languages pages · checked 01.11.2026 · about the programme · questions

The ITU English Proficiency Exam

Two sessions

Session 1 lasts 120 minutes: Language Comprehension (14 points: a cloze text of 10 questions at 0.5 and a restatement part of 9 questions at 1) and Reading (36 points: 24 questions at 1.5). Session 2 lasts 135 minutes: Writing (30 points: an academic essay worth 20 and an integrated task worth 10) and Listening (20 points: 10 questions at 2).

Passing

Only students with 25 out of 50 in the first session can take the second. To pass, a student needs 25 out of 50 in the second session too.

Non-ITU candidates

They can take the exam. At the application stage they choose the non-ITU student category.

September 2026

Session I on 09.09.2026 and Session II on 11.09.2026 at 9:30 at the School of Foreign Languages on the Ayazağa Campus. Candidates bring an identity card, driving licence or passport and are in the room 15 minutes before. Registration for those on the 2026 list of eligible students ran 03.09.2026 – 06.09.2026.

CEFR levels

The exam score 90–100 corresponds to B2+, 75–89 to B2, 60–74 to B1+.

School of Foreign Languages, proficiency exam pages · checked 01.11.2026 · exam · CEFR table · home page

The preparatory calendar for 2026–27

1. 14–15.09.2026English preparatory placement exam.
2. 28.09.2026The fall term begins, with orientation for the English preparatory students. Fall break: 16–20.11.2026.
3. 08.01.2027The fall term ends. Proficiency exam registration 28.12.2026 – 11.01.2027; the exams are on 15.01.2027 and 18.01.2027.
4. 01.02.2027The spring term begins. Spring break: 08–12.03.2027. Registration for the exam: 30.04.2027 – 13.05.2027; the exams are on 26.05.2027 and 28.05.2027.
5. 05.07–06.08.2027Summer school. Registration for the exam: 20.07.2027 – 03.08.2027; the exams are on 09.08.2027 and 12.08.2027.

School of Foreign Languages, preparatory classes calendar · checked 01.11.2026 · calendar

Tuition: who pays, and when

ITU’s Tuitions page says every international student pays a student fee or tuition fee at registration, under the regulations of the Council of Higher Education, to a Vakıfbank branch on the Ayazağa Campus. The page links the amounts for each academic year, and this page prints none.

The fee rules, as ITU’s fee page words them

Two words

The student contribution fee (katkı payı) is owed by students of daytime programmes who exceed the programme’s length. The tuition fee (öğrenim ücreti) is owed by international students, students of international dual degree programmes and students of second-degree programmes without a thesis. Both rest on Article 46 of the Higher Education Law No. 2547.

Who pays tuition

International students who register within the quota for students from abroad. They keep paying if they later become Turkish citizens.

When

At registration or registration renewal, at the start of each semester. A student who does not pay in time, and whose excuse the institution’s board does not accept, cannot enrol for that semester and loses the student rights for it.

Length of study

Preparatory class: 1 year, 2 semesters. Four-year undergraduate programme: 4 years, 8 semesters. ITU’s undergraduate page counts 102 programmes, and its all-departments page counts 114 including 18 UOLP programmes.

Exempt

Scholarship students whose scholarship covers the fee, within the programme length; children of martyrs and veterans; and the other groups the page lists.

Discounts

Students with disabilities, by their level of disability, and a 25 % sibling discount in 2026–27 for international students admitted within the international quotas, if the student and the family hold residence permits in Türkiye and more than one family member studies at a state institution. The application deadline was 17:00 on 02.10.2026.

ITU Tuitions page and fee page · checked 01.11.2026 · Tuitions · student fee and tuition fee

The five campuses: addresses, phones and the road

ITU’s contact page says all five campuses are in central points of Istanbul and reachable by public transport; 8 bus lines on the European side and 2 on the Anatolian side stop at ITU. The department lists below follow ITU’s all-departments page, which tags each department with a campus.

Ayazağa, the main campus

ITU’s contact page says an ITU metro stop is in front of the main campus in Ayazağa. The photograph shows the stop’s sign.

The other campuses

Maçka, Taşkışla, Gümüşsuyu and Tuzla each have their own address and phone in the switch above. The Computer and Informatics building in the photograph is on the Ayazağa Campus.

Housing: dormitories on three campuses

ITU’s Scholarship and Dormitories Coordination says it runs student dormitories with 5,300 beds on the Ayazağa, Gümüşsuyu and Tuzla campuses. ITU’s campus life page speaks of 15 dormitory buildings for 5,000 students. The Coordination’s site lists the dormitory fees, the dormitory regulation (yurt yönergesi) and the 2026–2027 commitment form (taahhütname) on separate pages in Turkish. This page prints no dormitory fee.

Where to ask

ITU, main line

444 1 488

Registrar’s Office

[email protected] · +90 212 365 78 00-99 (100 line) · İTÜ Ayazağa Campus, 34469 Maslak, Istanbul

School of Foreign Languages

[email protected] · 0212 285 7495

Residence permit

ITU’s international students index has a Residence Permit page. The guide Studying in Türkiye covers the student visa and the permit.

ITU Scholarship and Dormitories Coordination, campus life, international students pages · checked 01.11.2026 · dormitories · campus life

Graduate level: in one fold

Quick answers in a few lines

Sources and limits

Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, each with its author, date, licence and file page in the caption. Pictures marked «Illustration» are drawn for this guide.

Where two ITU pages differ, this page says so or prints neither figure. Dates, minimums and rules are those printed for 2026–27 on the date shown.